Manulife Investments renews product allocation approach in partnership with
The QWeMA Group

TORONTO, March 9 /CNW/ - Manulife Investments has renewed its licensing agreement for a "product allocation" software system, developed and offered by The QWeMA Group, to support Manulife's product allocation approach to retirement income.

Manulife has signed a three-year, non-exclusive licensing agreement for the Product Allocation for Retirement Income (PrARI(TM)) software tool. Advisors using PrARI(TM) can locate the optimal product allocation for clients across a variety of financial instruments, beyond stocks and bonds. PrARI(TM) is available to advisors on Manulife Investments' online Retirement Solutions Centre at www.productallocation.ca.

"This product allocation tool is a very important and innovative approach that helps Canadians better plan for their financial future," said Roy Firth, Executive Vice President, Individual Wealth Management, Manulife Financial. "We are very pleased to continue our relationship with The QWeMA Group and strongly encourage anyone looking ahead to retirement to use this unique planning tool. This is a key component of our overall plan to demonstrate leadership in retirement solutions."

Manulife Investments launched its online Retirement Solutions Centre in 2008 to offer tools to help financial advisors learn more about how product allocation can help their clients better plan and protect their retirement income.

"The QWeMA Group is delighted to continue working with one of the premier insurance companies in the world," comments Dr. Moshe Milevsky, finance professor at the Schulich School of Business in Toronto, and President and CEO of The QWeMA Group. "As boomers move closer to and into retirement, product allocation will play a greater role in retirement planning success or failure. PrARI(TM) allows advisors and their clients to quickly and confidently reap the rewards of the product allocation approach."

Manulife's product allocation tool, powered by the PrARI engine, helps advisors evaluate the retirement income sustainability of a client's current portfolio. Once the current sustainability is assessed, the client's product portfolio can be adjusted to optimize income sustainability.

For more information about Manulife Investments, please visit www.manulifeinvestments.ca.

About QWeMA Group

The QWeMA Group Inc., an abbreviation of Quantitative Wealth Management Analytics Group, develops and licenses unique intellectual property and educational software for the financial services and retirement industry. QWeMA is privately owned and operated by a network of university-based financial engineers, computational scientists and applied mathematicians. For more information please visit www.qwema.ca.

About Manulife Investments

Manulife Investments is the brand name describing certain Canadian subsidiaries and operating divisions of Manulife Financial Corporation that offer personal wealth management products and services in Canada. As one of Canada's leading integrated financial services providers, Manulife Investments offers a variety of products and services including segregated funds, mutual funds, annuities and guaranteed investment contracts.

About Manulife Financial

Manulife Financial is a leading Canadian-based financial services group serving millions of customers in 22 countries and territories worldwide. Operating as Manulife Financial in Canada and Asia, and primarily through John Hancock in the United States, the Company offers customers a diverse range of financial protection products and wealth management services through its extensive network of employees, agents and distribution partners. Funds under management by Manulife Financial and its subsidiaries were Cdn $440 billion (US$ 420 billion) as at December 31, 2009.

Manulife Financial Corporation trades as 'MFC' on the TSX, NYSE and PSE, and under '945' on the SEHK. Manulife Financial can be found on the Internet at www.manulife.com.

For further information: Media contact: Tom Nunn, Manulife Financial, [phone], [email protected]